December 21, 2013 3:32pm ESTDecember 21, 2013 3:27pm ESTFrom the controversial finish at Richmond to the bizarre, wreck-filled spring race at Talladega, 2013 had a mix of great and surprising moments. SN’s Bob Pockrass runs down the top races of the year.Drivers crash in a multi-car pileup at the May race at Talladega.(AP Photo)

1. Richmond-September

With all the drama of who would get in the Chase for the Sprint Cup and who wouldn’t, there were several drivers to keep an eye on — Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman among them.

Gordon was struggling after leading the first 49 laps and eventually would miss the cutoff before NASCAR’s stepped in and added him a week later.

That spin ruined the chance for Ryan Newman to win the race and created a situation where drivers were trying to figure out whether to pit or night. Paul Menard gambled with a two-tire stop and led at the final restart but Carl Edwards passed him to win the race.

There was some controversy on that pass, too, on whether Edwards should have been called for jumping the restart even though Menard spun his tires.

But that controversy was minor in light of the Bowyer spin and then his teammate Brian Vickers’ coming down pit road in hopes of creating a scenario where their Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Truex could make the Chase. Truex did make it but then was penalized 50 points as part of a MWR-wide sanction, and he missed the Chase.

2. Talladega-May

It was kind of bizarre day at Talladega. While one driver (Matt Kenseth) led all but 50 laps, it was an intriguing race at the end, like most restrictor-plate races.

This was a race that almost wasn't run on its scheduled day because of rain. An early 16-car pileup ended the day for three drivers. Rain halted the race with 58 laps remaining and left many wondering if NASCAR would get it restarted.

It did, and there would be another big wreck, one with four laps remaining that involved 12 cars.

That set up a two-lap dash to the finish. Kenseth led on the restart but Edwards was able to gain the lead.

Then came a miracle — David Ragan, with a push from teammate David Gillialnd won the race for Front Row Motorsports.

3. Watkins Glen

One of the best thing about road-course races is the different strategies that often occur. Some drivers pit on designated laps no matter what happens on the track. Others adjust strategy depending on where the cautions fall.

Marcos Ambrose sat on the pole of this race and led 51 laps, but he ended up pitting on lap 62 and found himself mired too far back in the field to make a run, which eventually was cut short anyway in an accident with Max Papis. Kyle Busch took the lead on lap 62 when Ambrose pitted under caution, and held on the rest of the way.

So what made this race so exciting? Well there were three accidents in the final 12 laps, creating three double-file restarts. Busch held off Brad Keselowski and Truex on those restarts.

Busch and Keselowski don’t like each other all that much. But they raced each other clean, and Busch wound up the winner.

4. Dover-June

This race had a dramatic finish thanks to Jimmie Johnson being ruled for jumping a restart. Johnson either started before leader Juan Pablo Montoya mashed the gas or Montoya started to go but then let up, setting up Johnson to be penalized. Johnson pleaded that he was not at fault, but NASCAR saw it as a pretty simple breach of the restart rule (which would eventually be changed later in the year).

Montoya didn’t win the race, either. Tony Stewart was able to pass him with three laps left for his only win of the season.

5. California

On a day when tire management played a role, this was a good race even though it ended under caution.

Well, maybe it was because of the dramatic last-lap caution that people will remember this race.

With 17 lead changes among eight drivers, this was an entertaining race to watch, and three cautions (prior to the last-lap yellow) in the final 23 laps set up restarts that made things wild.

Kyle Busch was trying to hold everyone off, and Joey Logano took the lead with seven laps remaining. Logano was battling rival Denny Hamlin for the lead when they had contact, and Hamlin went into an inside wall, where he would suffer a compression fracture in his lower back.

Busch zoomed around the outside to win.

After the race, Tony Stewart went up to Logano, wanting a piece of the young driver for blocking him on the late restarts, and a shoving match ensued.

It was a chaotic ending to one of the most entertaining California races in a long time.

6. Charlotte-May

There’s always something intriguing when drivers race for 600 miles.

Of course, things falling from the sky hurting cars and fans is not exactly one of them.

A cable holding a camera snapped, resulting in damage to cars and injuries to fans from the rope being whipped through the crowd as drivers hit it.

NASCAR had to stop the race to allow teams to work on the cars. After a delay of nearly 30 minutes, there were more accidents, including one with 69 laps left that resulted in a nine-minute red flag.

Kevin Harvick passed Kasey Kahne on a restart with 11 laps to go and then crusied to win the in a race that truly was a bizzare battle for survival.

7. Bristol-August

This race had one of the closest finishes of the season with just 0.188 seconds separating Matt Kenseth from second-place Kasey Kahne.

It was a race that featured some hard wrecks, including one where Kevin Harvick was so mad at Denny Hamlin, he parked in Hamlin’s pit.

The race featured 16 lead changes and while not the most iconic of Bristol night races, still was enough of a spectacle to get on this list.

8. Daytona-February

The Daytona 500 is the Daytona 500, so it likely would make a top-10 list every year. It will be dramatic no matter what.

The start was somewhat exciting as Danica Patrick sat on the pole, the first time a woman had accomplished that feat in a Cup race.

While there were 28 lead changes, the drivers often stayed in a line. There was one early multicar wreck and then just one more with 62 laps remaining.

The lack of late-race crashes made this a weird race, but Jimmie Johnson proved victorious in leading the final 10 laps, edging teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 0.129 seconds.

9. Kentucky

Rain pushed this race to Sunday, and it turned into a race with a lot less tire grip on the track. That resulted in more cautions (10 on the day) than usual and also nearly a dozen lead changes.

On a restart with 25 laps remaining, Matt Kenseth didn’t appear he would be able to hold off Jimmie Johnson, but Johnson wrecked.

Kenseth then was able to outlast Jamie McMurray with less than a second separating them.

10. Martinsville-October

This race turned into one of survival as 17 cautions resulted in 111 caution laps and a race that took 3 hours, 44 minutes for a tortoise-like speed of 70.337 mph.

There were 15 lead changes, including Gordon passing Kenseth with 21 laps remaining.

The strangest part of this race was the final 77 laps went green after all those cautions early in the event.

Needless to say, there were some rumpled bumpers, and afterward Greg Biffle had an angry confrontation with Jimmie Johnson.